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Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Excerpt of There is Always a Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage + Tour-Wide Giveaway!!

Pub. Date: November 5, 2017Publisher: Timelight PressPages: 400

Series: Graham Saga, Book #9 Genre: Historical Fiction/Time-SlipThere is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.

It is 1692 and the Colony of Maryland is still adapting to the consequences of Coode’s Rebellion some years previously. Religious tolerance in the colony is now a thing of the past, but safe in their home, Alex and Matthew Graham have no reason to suspect they will become embroiled in the ongoing religious conflicts—until one of their sons betrays their friend Carlos Muñoz to the authorities.

Matthew Graham does not leave his friends to rot—not even if they’re papist priests—so soon enough most of the Graham family is involved in a rescue attempt, desperate to save Carlos from a sentence that may well kill him.

Meanwhile, in London little Rachel is going through hell. In a matter of months she loses everything, even her surname, as apparently her father is not Master Cooke but one Jacob Graham. Not that her paternity matters when her entire life implodes.

Will Alex and Matthew be able to help their unknown grandchild? More importantly, will Rachel want their help?

Excerpt of There is Always a Tomorrow

John Law at eight in the morning was not as sparkling a personage as he was at midnight. In fact, the young man looked as if he’d planted one foot in a premature grave, a side-effect, Luke presumed, of ingesting too much wine and gin the previous night.

“You came in with Charlie?” Luke asked, nodding a greeting at his son who was presently helping himself to porridge.

“Aye.” John Law grinned. “At the time, it seemed wise not to repair to my own lodgings.”

“Ah. And who did you ruin this time?”

“Yet another little lordling.” Law sniffed. “With a rich papa and no sense whatsoever.”

“One day you’ll overstep the mark,” Luke warned.

“Which is why I accepted Charlie’s offer of a bed,” Law replied.

“In my house—not his,” Luke commented.

At this, Charlie grimaced. “It was late. Jane would not have liked it, that we came home smelling of gin and—” He broke off.

Women, Luke filled in. Little more than perfumed whores, those desperate third and fourth daughters who frequented the salons at night, hoping to meet a man who’d marry them or at least set them up in style, like his dear departed king and lord, Charles II, used to do.

“Mind you,” Law continued, “should they challenge me, I would win.”

“Mmm?” Luke added some salt to his porridge. No matter that he’d lived most of his life in London, some habits were hard to break. His mam had always served them porridge for breakfast, Margaret had done the same, and so here they were, with Luke closer to sixty than fifty and still starting his days with a bowl of oat porridge.

“I am a skilled fencer,” Law explained.

“Ah.” Luke dabbed at his mouth. “So am I. And unlike you, I’ve used those skills to stay alive on the battlefield.”

Law cocked his head. “Begging your pardon, but you’re too old to be much of a challenge now, Sir Luke.”

Luke suppressed a smile. “Really?” he said mildly.

“Father is an excellent swordsman,” Charlie put in. “I’d not wager against him.”

“No?” A speculative light lit up Law’s eyes. “I would.”

In the doorway, David laughed. “Best make sure the footmen come prepared with bandages, Law. He’ll leave you covered in gashes. The only one who stands a chance against him is—”

“Yes, yes,” Luke interrupted, sharing a swift look with Charlie. A responding wink had him suppressing yet another smile.

“Ten guineas says I’ll win.” Law threw a heavy pouch on the table.

Luke looked at his nephew, his son. “Done.”

Law was good, but Luke was better. After having bloodied the youngster—a mere scratch across his cheek—Luke bowed out and chose to watch as the three young men went at it with their swords. David was a hopeless case, attempting to compensate with brute force for the grace and skills he lacked.

“Did Matthew not teach you to fence?” Luke asked. His brother was an impressive swordsman.

“No time.” David mopped at his brow. “Da is a farmer, not a gentleman of leisure.”

“You should have seen him on Barbados.” Charlie made a couple of quick sweeps with his rapier. “One man against six, and he held them off.”

“Aye, with some help from Mama.” David joined Luke on the bench, shivering as a sudden gust of wind swept through the garden.

“Your mother knows how to fence?” Law sounded impressed.

“Nay, she kicks—like a mule,” David said.

Law wrinkled his nose. “How unladylike.”

“Useful, though.” David shrugged and nodded at Charlie. “Have you bested him yet?”

Law smirked and straightened up, all elegant grace. As tall as Charlie, John Law was substantially lighter and was already bouncing on his toes in anticipation. David elbowed Luke. “Dear John doesn’t stand a chance,” he murmured.

“No,” Luke agreed, just as quietly. “And he has committed the grave mistake of underestimating his opponent.”

Charlie was standing sturdily on both feet, an ox facing a temperamental stallion. In contrast to Law, he was not holding his sword aloft, rather he was looking inept and clumsy. Until Law darted towards him. A whirlwind of red hair, of billowing sleeves, and Charlie was dancing round Law, his sword flashing in the October sun. Some while later, Law gave up, looking quite disgruntled.

“I haven’t lost for years,” he admitted. “Now, I’ve lost twice in one morning.”

“Complacency,” Luke told him. “The most dangerous adversary of all.” He looked the young Scotsman up and down. “Best beware you don’t fleece the wrong man.”

Law’s face reddened. “I don’t cheat,” he protested. “I just count.”

“A man who loses consistently will accuse you of cheating rather than admitting to his own incompetence.” Luke handed his sword to one footman and allowed the other to help him into his coat, a fashionably cut affair that fell almost to his knees.

“I’ll keep it in mind, sir,” Law said, bowing politely. He clapped Charlie on his shoulder and excused himself.

“I don’t think he will,” David said to Luke. “Yon Law is too full of himself.”

“But bright as a button.” Luke glanced at David. “He’ll learn.”

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About the Author

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Anna was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture, English history and Swedish traditions. As a result she’s multilingual and most of her reading is historical- both non-fiction and fiction. Possessed of a lively imagination, she has drawers full of potential stories, all of them set in the past. She was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both. Ideally, Anna aspired to becoming a pioneer time traveller, but science has as yet not advanced to the point of making that possible. Instead she ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very little time to spare for her most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as one must, and in between juggling a challenging career Anna raised her four children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive…

For years she combined a challenging career with four children and the odd snatched moment of writing. Nowadays Anna spends most of her spare time at her writing desk. The children are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and she slips away into her imaginary world, with her imaginary characters. Every now and then the one and only man in her life pops his head in to ensure she’s still there.

It's Giveaway Time!!

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 2 eBooks & 2 paperback copies of There is Always a Tomorrow! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form HERE.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 21st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.